I prefer moustache rather than mustache, because it kinda looks like a big mouse on my lip.
The big event for today was going to see the War Memorial in Melbourne.
That's it.
My brother-in-law Conor admiring the flame.
Breathtaking!
Roughly 250,000 pounds was fundraised to built this Shrine of Remembrance back in the 1930's.
Melbourne from the steps.
Light shining down into the sanctuary where the Stone of Remembrance can be found.
Engraved on the stone is "Greater Love Hath No Man" (sexist!). The lady was all excited for us to see the light pass over the stone. You see, on November 11th at precisely 11am the sun shines across the stone. Everyday they recreate that effect for visitors. I was kind of expecting a huge beam of light to come down. In reality, it was about the size of a penlight. I was trying not to laugh cause it was a solemn occasion. Also would have been a bit rude to just walk out (which I also wanted to do).
View from on top of the shrine.
It got super windy and rainy at this point. I regretted not bringing a jacket. In fact, you think it would be odd for me to say I wanted a jacket in Australia in the middle of summer, when as you all know, I sweat like a pig when it is only mildly warm. All those people who were mocking me, "Oh Dan, you're gonna die down there!!!" were so horribly wrong. There wasn't one day on my whole trip where I thought, "This heat is going to kill me!" I've experienced hotter days in Fort St. John than I did down under.
More shots from up top.
In the basement of the Shrine is the "Crypt". Here is a memorial to a Father and Son who fought in the War.
Huge row of medals.
Something exciting happened to me while I was down in that area. They had a number of exhibits on Australia and New Zealand's involvement in the wars. At different stations you could hear real-life stories retold by actors. At one station I was moved. You see, the voice sounded very familiar...and that's when it dawned on me:
The actor reading one particular story just happened to be Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords. A single tear rolled down my cheek.
So that was the big event. Also in that day we went for lunch by one of Jackie's workplace (the coffee place). Conor and I had sushi (can you believe I absolutely LOVE sushi now???!? I even like rolls!). That evening Jackie and I decided to watch Disturbia. It was pretty good, although it's a modern telling of "Rear Window" which I think is a better movie. Conor didn't want to watch it, cause he's very different than me and Jackie in some ways (which I will get to in a later post!). He decided to go for a big long walk. He came back part way through and was mad cause he was hoping the movie would be done before he returned. Sucker!
Before we watched the movie I decided to try using their air mattress because the fold up bed was quite uncomfortable (it was like sleeping on a chain-link fence). So Jackie tried to trick me by saying there wasn't a pump, but it didn't matter in the end cause it was the worst pump I had ever seen. It was so gruelling using that thing...Jackie decided to catch a little bit of it on video. Enjoy!
She cut me off before I said "I don't know why you wanted this videotaped?!?"
I had a great sleep on that air mattress until about 1 am when I realized it was losing air. Wonderful!
End of Day Two.
4 comments:
I don't think that father and son fought in the same war
And didn't we go to the market that day too??
i wasn't really paying attention to the father and son thing, i just thought it was a neat area, haha.
and we did go to the market that day! i should have looked at your blog to remind me. ONE DOLLAR!!!!!
something about that video makes me laugh. i dunno if its your moustache, those short shorts or the amount of effort you are putting into pumping up that mattress
haha, i didn't even notice my shorts were pulled up!
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